I guess I should add that Cain’s vegetarian offering was REJECTED by God.
Gen 4:4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
Gen 4:5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
It is clear that Adam told his sons the proper way to make an offering to God. Abel did it the correct way, Cain did not.
Cain’s offering was not accepted because it was an offering that HE grew himself - it was an offering of HIS OWN efforts to merit God’s approval. Abel gave the proper offering, the sacrifice of an innocent life for another’s transgressions (symbolic of Christ). The “way of Cain” is trying to earn salvation on your own terms, not the way God tells us we can freely have it.
Gen 4:2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
Gen 4:4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
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I guess I should add that Cain’s vegetarian offering was REJECTED by God.
Gen 4:4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
Gen 4:5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
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Why did Abel raise sheep? Certainly not to eat, as this was not permitted until after the flood.
Why was Abel's offering accepted while Cain's was not? Is was not because Cain's was "vegetarian". As you quoted, Abel brought the "firstlings of his flock"; but Cain's offering is described differently: He only brought "some of the fruits of the soil" (Gen 4:3). It seems to me that Abel offered to God the "first portions" of his work, while Cain kept the "first portions" of his work for himself.